Dan Henderson doesn't blame Chael Sonnen for having a "big mouth" and the opportunities it gets him, like a 205-pound title shot against Jon Jones in April, but the former PRIDE and Strikeforce champion wants to secure his title shot the old fashioned way, by earning it.
While the news was breaking that it would be Chael Sonnen who got the next shot at Jon Jones, as well as a stint coaching opposite the UFC Light Heavyweight champion on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), the man he jumped ahead of in the queue was in Singapore training and teaching at Evolve MMA.
In this video, which was released this morning (Nov. 6, 2012), Dan Henderson talks frankly about his feelings at being sidestepped by Sonnen and why he thinks the decision to award his Team Quest colleague a shot at Jones' title just because he has a "big mouth" is "demeaning for the sport."
"I think it's demeaning for the sport. You have guys that are in line for a title shot and then someone else gets it, doesn't matter who it is, if they don't deserve it, the sport loses a little bit of integrity when that happens. It only happens because of Chael having a big mouth, which is fine. It's not Chael's fault that he got the opportunity, but at the same time, I'm not the one to go out and talk shit. I wanna earn it. I wanna earn it the right way."
Henderson was expected to fight Jones at the UFC 151 event back in September; however, his untimely injury -- and "Bones" refusal to fight Sonnen on just eight days notice -- torpedoed the fight card and turned the division on its head.
The 42-year-old "Hendo" (tick-tock) is expected to face off against Lyoto Machida at a future date, but whether or not the winner is granted the next title shot remains to be seen.
There are 101 Comments. Load Now.
Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.
C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read
R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next
Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read
Comment Settings
Live comment alert: Hide it!
Comments for this post are closed.